Kemp out of Dodgers’ lineup for fourth straight game

Matt Kemp is out of the Dodgers’ starting lineup for the fourth straight game, and he’s being groomed to play left field because the team isn’t confident he can handle the defensive demands of playing center field at the moment.

Manager Don Mattingly said Monday that Kemp isn’t moving the way he did a couple of years ago, when he was the 2011 NL MVP runner-up.

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While Kemp transitions to left, Carl Crawford will handle the position, Andre Ethier will play center field and Yasiel Puig will play right field. Mattingly emphasized that Kemp could still play center in the future.

A clearly frustrated Kemp says he’s healthy and that he just wants to play.